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March 16
Events *597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king *1190 - Crusaders start to massacre the Jews of York; many Jews commit suicide rather than submit to baptism. *1249 - The Servite Order is officially approved by Cardinal Raniero Capocci, papal legate in Tuscany. *1322 - Battle of Boroughbridge in the First War of Scottish Independence. *1521 - Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines. *1621 - Samoset, a Mohegan, visits the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, "Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset." *1660 - The Long Parliament disbands. *1689 - The 23rd Regiment of Foot or Royal Welch Fusiliers is founded. *1792 - King Gustav III of Sweden is shot; he dies on March 29. *1802 - The United States Military Academy West Point is established. *1812 - Battle of Badajoz (March 16 - April 6) - British and Portuguese forces besiege and defeat French garrison during Peninsular War. *1815 - Prince Willem of the House of Orange-Nassau proclaimed himself King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the first constitutional monarch in the Netherlands. *1818 - Battle of Cancha Rayada - Spanish forces defeat Chileans under José de San Martín. *1855 - Bates College in Lewiston is founded. *1861 - Edward Clark became Governor of Texas, replacing Sam Houston, who was evicted from the office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy. *1867 - First publication of an article by Joseph Lister outlining the discovery of antiseptic surgery, in The Lancet. *1872 - The Wanderers F.C. won the first FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, beating Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1-0 at The Oval in Kennington, London. *1900 - Sir Arthur Evans purchases the land around the ruins of Knossos, the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete. *1912 - Lawrence Oates, ill member of Scott's South Pole expedition leaves the tent saying, "I am just going outside and may be some time." *1916 - 7th and 10th US cavalry regiments under John J. Pershing cross the border to join the hunt of Pancho Villa. *1924 - The free port of Fiume formally annexed by Mussolini's fascist regime. *1926 - History of Rocketry: Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn. *1935 - Adolf Hitler orders Germany to rearm herself in violation of the Versailles Treaty. Conscription was reintroduced to form the Wehrmacht. *1939 - From Prague Castle Hitler proclaimed Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate. * 1939 - Marriage of Princess Fawzia of Egypt to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran *1942 - History of Rocketry: First V-2 rocket test launch (exploded at liftoff) *1945 - World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends but small pockets of Japanese resistance persist. * 1945 - Würzburg, Germany is 90% destroyed, with 5,000 dead, in only 20 minutes by British bombers. *1952 - In Cilaos, Réunion, 73 inches (1,870mm) of rain falls in one day, setting a new world record. *1956 - St. Urho's Day is first celebrated. *1958 - Ford Motor Company produces its 50 millionth automobile, the Thunderbird, averaging almost a million cars a year since the company's founding. *1962 - A Flying Tiger Line Super Constellation disappears in the western Pacific Ocean, with 107 people missing. *1963 - Mount Agung erupts on Bali - 11,000 dead *1966 - Launch of Gemini 8, the 12th manned American space flight and first space docking with the Agena Target Vehicle. *1968 - Vietnam War: In the My Lai massacre, between 350 and 500 Vietnamese villagers -- men, women, and children -- are killed by American troops. * 1968 - General Motors releases its 100 millionth automobile, the Oldsmobile Toronado. *1969 - A Venezuelan Airlines DC-9 crashes shortly after takeoff in Maracaibo, Venezuela killing 155 *1971 - Government of Trygve Bratteli in Norway *1976 - UK Prime Minister, Harold Wilson resigns. *1978 - Aldo Moro is kidnapped by left-wing terrorists in Italy and is later killed by his captors. * 1978 - Supertanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two after running aground on Portsall Rocks, three miles off the coast of Brittany, resulting in the 5th-largest oil spill in history *1983 - Demolition of the radio tower Ismaning, the last radio tower in Germany built of wood. *1984 - William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, Lebanon, is kidnapped by Islamic fundamentalists and later dies in captivity. *1985 - Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut. He would be released on December 4, 1991. *1988 - Iran-Contra Affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States. * 1988 - Halabja poison gas attack: The Kurdish town of Halabjah in Iraq was attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents, killing thousands of people. *1995 - Mississippi formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. *1996 - Göran Persson is elected leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party. *1997 - Sandline affair - On Bougainville, soldiers of commander Jerry Singirok arrest Tim Spicer and his mercenaries of the Sandline International *1998 - Pope John Paul II apologises for inactivity and silence of some Roman Catholics during the Holocaust. *2003 - Largest coordinated worldwide vigil, as part of the global protests against Iraq war. *2005 - Israel officially hands over Jericho to Palestinian control *2006 - The United Nations General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to establish the UN Human Rights Council. Births *1338 - Thomas de Beauchamp (d. 1401) *1445 - Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, Swiss-born preacher (d. 1510) *1473 - Henry IV the Pious, Duke of Saxony (d. 1541) *1581 - Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, Dutch historian and writer (d. 1647) *1585 - Gerbrand Adriaensz Bredero, Dutch writer (d. 1618) *1631 - René Le Bossu, French critic (d. 1680) *1654 - Andreas Acoluthus, German orientalist (d. 1704) *1687 - Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort in Prussia (d. 1757) *1750 - Caroline Herschel, German-born English astronomer (d. 1848) *1751 - James Madison, 4th President of the United States (d. 1836) *1773 - Juan Ramón Balcarce, Argentine military leader and politician (d. 1836) *1774 - Captain Matthew Flinders, English explorer of the coasts of Australia (d. 1814) *1789 - Georg Simon Ohm, German physicist (d. 1854) *1794 - Ami Boué, Austrian geologist (d. 1881) *1800 - Emperor Ninko of Japan (d. 1846) *1805 - Peter Ernst von Lasaulx, German philosopher and writer (d. 1861) *1822 - Rosa Bonheur, French realist painter and sculptor (d. 1899) *1834 - James Hector, Scottish geologist (d. 1907) *1839 - René François Armand Sully-Prudhomme, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907) * 1839 - John Butler Yeats, Northern Irish artist (d. 1922) *1840 - Shibusawa Eiichi, Japanese industrialist (d. 1931) *1846 - Gösta Mittag-Leffler, Swedish mathematician (d. 1927) *1851 - Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (d. 1931) *1856 - Napoléon Eugène Louis John Joseph, called Napoleon IV, the only child of Emperor Napoleon III of France (d. 1879) *1857 - Charles Harding Firth, British historian (d. 1936) *1859 - Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist (d. 1906) *1865 - Patsy Donovan, Irish-American baseball player (d. 1953) * 1869 - F.A. Forbes, Scottish author (d. 1936) *1877 - Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shah of Iran (d. 1941) *1878 - Clemens August Graf von Galen, German archbishop and cardinal (d. 1946) *1889 - Reggie Walker, South African athlete (d. 1951) *1890 - Solomon Mikhoels, Soviet actor and chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee (d. 1948) *1892 - César Vallejo, Peruvian poet (d. 1938) * 1892 - James Petrillo, leader of the U.S. musicians union (d. 1984) *1897 - Conrad Nagel, American actor (d. 1970) *1883 - Ethel Anderson, Australian poet (d. 1958) *1898 - Viktor Chaim Blerot, French/Swedish philosopher (d. 1972) *1901 - Edward Pawley, American actor (d. 1988) *1902 - Leon Roppolo, American jazz clarinetist (d. 1943) *1903 - Mike Mansfield, American politician, and diplomat (d. 2001) *1905 - Elisabeth Flickenschildt, German actress (d. 1977) * 1905 - Marlin Perkins, American naturalist (d. 1986) *1906 - Henny Youngman, American comedian (d. 1998) * 1906 - Francisco Ayala, Spanish writer *1908 - René Daumal, French Surrealist writer (d. 1944) * 1908 - Robert Rossen, American film director, screenwriter and producer (d. 1966) *1911 - Josef Mengele, Nazi war criminal (d. 1979) * 1911 - Pierre Harmel, Belgian politician *1912 - Pat Nixon, First Lady of the United States (d. 1993) *1916 - Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (d. 2004) *1917 - Samael Aun Weor, Colombian writer (d. 1977) *1918 - Frederick Reines, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998) *1920 - Leo McKern, Australian actor (d. 2002) * 1920 - Traudl Junge, Hitler's secretary (d. 2002) * 1920 - John Addison, British composer (d. 1998) * 1920 - Dorothea Binz, Nazi war criminal (d. 1947) *1922 - Harding Lemay, American television scriptwriter and playwright *1925 - Luis E. Miramontes, Mexican chemist, co-inventor of the combined oral contraceptive pill (d. 2004) *1926 - Charles Goodell, American politician (d. 1987) * 1926 - Jerry Lewis, American comedian *1927 - Vladimir Komarov, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1967) *1927 - Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. Senator from New York (d. 2003) * 1927 - Olga San Juan, American comedian *1928 - Christa Ludwig, German mezzo-soprano * 1928 - Karlheinz Böhm, Austrian actor *1929 - Nadja Tiller, Austrian actress *1930 - Tommy Flanagan, American jazz pianist (d. 2001) *1931 - Betty Johnson, American singer *1932 - Don Blasingame, American baseball player and manager (d. 2005) * 1932 - Walter Cunningham, American astronaut *1933 - Sandy Weill, American financier and philanthropist *1934 - Ray Hnatyshyn, Governor-General of Canada (d. 2002) *1935 - Teresa Berganza, Spanish soprano *1936 - Fred Neil, American singer-songwriter (d. 2001) *1937 - Amos Tversky, Israeli psychologist (d. 1996) *1939 - Carlos Bilardo, Argetinian football coach *1940 - Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian film director * 1940 - Jan Pronk, Dutch politician * 1940 - Keith Rowe, English guitarist (AMM) and painter *1941 - Robert Guéï, ruler of Côte d'Ivoire (d. 2002) * 1941 - Chuck Woolery, American game show host *1942 - James Soong, Taiwanese politician * 1942 - Jerry Jeff Walker, American musician * 1942 - Roger Crozier, Canadian ice hockey goaltender (d. 1996) *1943 - Ursula Goodenough, Evolutionary Scholar, Cell Biologist *1946 - Michael Basman, English chess master * 1946 - Hubert Soudant, Dutch conductor *1947 - Ramzan Paskayev, Chechen accordionist *1948 - Michael Bruce, American musician. Guitarist and keyboard player for Alice Cooper * 1948 - Tony Iommi, British guitarist Black Sabbath * 1948 - Margaret Weis, American author * 1948 - Richard Desjardins, Quebec singer, songwriter and film director *1949 - Erik Estrada, Puerto Rican actor *1949 - Elliott Murphy, American Singer-Songwriter * 1949 - Victor Garber, Canadian actor *1950 - Kate Nelligan, Canadian actress *1951 - Joe DeLamielleure, American football player *1952 - Philippe Kahn, French-American entrepreneur *1953 - Isabelle Huppert, French actress * 1953 - Richard Stallman, American free software activist *1954 - Jimmy Nail, British actor and singer * 1954 - Nancy Wilson, American guitarist, singer, and actress (Heart) *1955 - Jiro Watanabe, Japanese boxer * 1955 - Bruno Barreto, Brazilian film director *1958 - Jorge Ramos, Mexican TV anchor *1959 - Flavor Flav, American rapper * 1959 - Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway *1960 - Duane Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player *1961 - Todd McFarlane, Canadian cartoonist, comic book writer, artist, and media entrepreneur * 1961 - Brett Kenny, Australian rugby league footballer *1963 - Jimmy Degrasso, American musician, drummer * 1963 - Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (d. 2002) *1964 - Patty Griffin, American singer and songwriter * 1964 - Gore Verbinski, American movie director * 1964 - Pascal Richard, Swiss cyclist *1965 - Richard Daniel Roman, English songwriter and record producer * 1965 - Belén Rueda, Spanish actress *1967 - Lauren Graham, American actress *1970 - Paul Oscar (Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson), Icelandic pop singer, songwriter and disc jockey *1971 - Alan Tudyk, American actor *1974 - Georgios Anatolakis, Greek footballer *1974 - Fotini Vavatsi, Greek archer *1975 - Sienna Guillory, English actress *1976 - Nick Spano, American actor * 1976 - Abraham Núñez, Dominican baseball player *1977 - Donal Óg Cusack, Irish hurler *1979 - Edison Méndez, Ecuadorian footballer * 1979 - Leena Peisa, Finnish musician (Lordi) *1980 - Felipe Reyes, Spanish basketball player * 1980 - Todd Heap, American football player *1981 - Andrew Bree, Irish swimmer *1983 - Brandon League, American baseball player *1984 - Levi Brown, American football player *1985 - Nicole Trunfio, Australian supermodel *1986 - Ken Doane, American professional wrestler *1987 - Tiiu Kuik, Estonian model *1989 - Theo Walcott, English footballer * 1989 - Peaches Geldof, English writer *1990 - James Bulger, British murder victim (d. 1993) *1991 - Wolfgang Van Halen, American musician *1994 - Sierra McClain, American actress and singer Deaths * 37 - Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar, Roman Emperor (b. 46 BC) * 455 - Valentinian III, Roman Emperor (b. 419) *1021 - Heribert of Cologne, Archbishop of Cologne and Chancellor of Emperor Otto III *1037 - Robert I, Archbishop of Rouen *1072 - Adalbert of Hamburg, German archbishop *1322 - Humphrey de Bohun, English soldier (b. 1276) *1410 - John Beaufort (b. 1373) *1457 - László Hunyadi, Hungarian statesman and warrior (b. 1433) *1485 - Anne Neville, queen of Richard III of England (b. 1456) *1559 - Anthony St. Leger, Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1496) *1649 - Jean de Brébeuf, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1593) *1620 - St. John Sarkander, Moravian priest, died of injuries caused by torturing *1679 - John Leverett, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1616) *1721 - James Craggs the Elder, English politician (b. 1657) *1736 - Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer (b. 1710) *1737 - Benjamin Wadsworth, President of Harvard University (b. 1670) *1738 - George Bähr, German architect (b. 1666) *1747 - Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst, father of Catherine II of Russia (b. 1690) *1888 - Hippolyte Carnot, French statesman (b. 1801) *1890 - Zorka of Montenegro, Princess of Serbia (b. 1864) *1892 - Samuel F. Miller, American politician (b. 1827) *1898 - Aubrey Beardsley, British artist (b. 1872) *1899 - Joseph Medill, mayor of Chicago (b. 1823) *1903 - Roy Bean, American jurist *1914 - Charles Albert Gobat, Swiss politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1843) *1926 - Sergeant Stubby, decorated World War I dog *1930 - Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spanish dictator (b. 1870) *1935 - John James Richard Macleod, Scottish-born physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876) * 1935 - Aron Nimzowitsch, Latvian-born chess player (b. 1886) *1936 - Marguerite Durand, French journalist and feminist (b. 1864) *1940 - Selma Lagerlöf, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858) *1945 - Börries von Münchhausen, German poet (b. 1874) *1955 - Nicolas de Staël, French-Russian painter (b. 1914) *1957 - Constantin Brancusi, Romanian sculptor (b. 1876) *1968 - Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian composer (b. 1895) * 1968 - Gunnar Ekelöf, Swedish poet and writer (b. 1907) *1970 - Tammi Terrell, American singer (b. 1946) *1971 - Thomas Dewey, American presidential candidate (b. 1902) *1975 - Richard W. DeKorte, American politician (b. 1936) * 1975 - T-Bone Walker, American musician (b. 1910) *1977 - Kamal Jumblatt, leader of the Lebanese Druze (b. 1917) *1979 - Jean Monnet, French politician (b. 1888) *1980 - Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-born painter (b. 1898) *1983 - Arthur Godfrey, American actor and television host (b. 1903) * 1983 - Fred Rose, Canadian politician (b. 1907) *1984 - John Hoagland, American photographer (b. 1947) *1985 - Eddie Shore, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902) *1992 - Yves Rocard, French physicist (b. 1903) * 1992 - Roger Lemelin, Quebec novelist and television writer (b. 1919) *1993 - Johnny Cymbal, American singer and producer (b. 1945) *1996 - Charlie Barnett, American actor (b. 1954) *1998 - Derek Harold Richard Barton, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918) *1999 - Gratien Gélinas, Quebec playwright and director (b. 1909) *2000 - Thomas Ferebee, Hiroshima bombardier (b. 1918) *2001 - Norma MacMillan, Canadian actress (b. 1921) *2003 - Rachel Corrie, American political activist (b. 1979) * 2003 - Ronald Ferguson, father of Sarah (b. 1931) *2004 - Vilém Tauský, Czech conductor and composer (b. 1910) *2005 - Todd Bell, American football player (b. 1958) * 2005 - Ralph Erskine, British architect (Byker Wall) (b. 1914) * 2005 - Anthony George, American TV actor (b. 1921) * 2005 - Allan Hendrickse, South African politician (b. 1927) * 2005 - Dick Radatz, American baseball player (b. 1937) *2007 - Manjural Islam, Bangladeshi test cricket player (b. 1984) Holidays and observances * Latvia - The controversial Latvian Legion Day * St. Urho's Day - the fictional patron saint of Finnish immigrants to the US, created by Richard Mattson in 1956 * The first day of the Bacchanalia in ancient Rome Liturgical feasts *Abban of Magheranoidhe Holweck, F. G. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924. *Abban of New Ross *Saint Heribert of Cologne (died 1021) *Saint Agapitus *Saint Benedicta (+1260) *Saint Eusebia (+680) References External links *BBC: On This Day * *On This Day in Canada ---- Category:March